Whip up a nostalgic snack with these Homemade Frosted Animal Crackers! Totally vegan and easily gluten-free, this cute crackers are perfect for kids and adults alike. Just like Barnum Crackers, they're a fun snack that everyone will love!
Homemade Animal Crackers, just like childhood
We're taking a walk down memory lane with these beyond-cute animal crackers.
Do you remember eating these as a kid? The best ones came in a small, circus train-shaped stringed box from Barnum. I always loved the pictures of animals on the front of the package and would actually play with them after eating the cookies.
Furthermore, I remember eating the legs off of the cookies before eating the middles as well...not sure why this sticks out in my recollection?
Anyway, we're revisiting the FUN of being a kid with this surprisingly simple adaptation.
Are animal crackers vegan?
Actually, yes! The Barnum's crackers I remember are technically plant-based.
What ingredients are in animal crackers?
Here is the ingredient list:
- Unbleached Enriched Flour
- Sugar
- Soybean And/Or Canola Oil
- Yellow Corn Flour
- Dextrose, Fructose, Calcium Carbonate
- Baking Soda, Soy Lecithin, Salt
- Natural Flavor, Artificial Flavor.
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No direct animal products are present, unless the sugar is processed with bone char.
Yet, there is something fun about making crackers on your own, with slightly more wholesome ingredients!
How To Make Animal Crackers
Making the dough here is actually pretty easy, its done right in the food processor. The most time-intensive part is stamping out the little animal shapes.
Full disclosure: I purchased cutouts specifically for this recipe. I am motivated to use them for more baked goods as they were about $8. I used these animal cracker stamps from Amazon (affiliate link).
So, I hope you enjoy these homemade animal crackers! Please leave a comment or let me know on Instagram if you try them.
Want more nostalgic recipes? Try one of the below!
Animal Crackers
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 2 TBS ground flax + 5 TBS water a flax egg
- 6 tablespoons vegan butter slightly softened
- 4 TBS brown sugar
- 3 TBS cold maple syrup or brown rice syrup
- 1 cup all purpose flour or finely ground out flour, or GF 1-1 Flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- Splash of almond milk if needed, to help dough come together
For decorations
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- Sprinkles
- Small animal cutouts like this
Instructions
- Mix your flax seeds and water in a small cup and set in the fridge to gel for 10 minutes.
- In a food processor, combine butter, sugar, and maple syrup and pulse to combine. Add in flour, baking powder, and salt and blend until a dough forms. Add a splash of almond milk to help this along if needed. You should have a cohesive mixture that is easily molded with your hands. Try not to blend it for too long, as you don't want to overwork the flour. Place food processor bowl in the freezer for a couple minutes while you grab a cookie sheet.
- Flour your cookie sheet generously. Take your dough out of the freezer and split it in tow. Sprinkle with one half with flour, and begin rolling until it's about the size of the sheet. Aim to make the dough about ¼ of an inch thick if you can.
- Use your cookie cutters to carefully cut out animal stamps. Place these on a plate. Once you've gotten every stamp out that you can, re-roll the dough and repeat this process until all of your dough is used. Place your finished stamps on a plate and place in the freezer while you preheat your oven to 350 F. Repeat this process with your second half of dough until it is all used.
- Line the cookie sheet with parchment paper, remove cookies from freezer, and fit as many as you can on the sheet. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes, watching to insure the cookies do not burn.
- While cookies are baking, heat your blueberries in a large, microwave-safe bowl. Mash with a fork until no large pieces of skin remain. Add powdered sugar and stir to combine into a frosting.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and let cool completely before frosting. Dunk in blueberry frosting and top with sprinkles of choice. Store in the freezer for best results !
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